The approaches described in this section are approaches that could be pursued, but not necessarily approaches that have been previously conceived or pursued. Therefore, unless otherwise indicated, it should not be assumed that any of the approaches described in this section qualify as prior art merely by virtue of their inclusion in this section.
Gallbladder surgery is currently performed using a laparoscopic technique. The surgeon inserts several tubes, called trocars or ports, into the abdominal cavity during this type of surgery. A 10 mm diameter optical scope, a laparoscope, is inserted into one of the ports. The laparoscope is attached to a video camera that allows the surgeon and the surgical team to view the inside of the abdominal cavity on a video screen. Long, slender instruments are passed through the other ports to grasp, dissect, and cut the tissue.
Laparoscopic surgery requires extra training in order to work with the new instruments and maneuver using a 2-D view of the surgical field. As a result of the limitations of this technique, inadvertent injuries to vital structures occur at a higher rate than in open surgery, even among experienced surgeons. The most serious complication of gallbladder surgery occurs when the surgeon inadvertently injures or cuts the common bile duct (CBD). This complication occurs in 1/200 (0.5%) operations in the U.S. Thus, of the approximately 800,000 laparoscopic gallbladder operations performed each year in the U.S., about 4000 patients will suffer a CBD injury.